Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC Trojans' D'Anton Lynn Provides Injury Update on Transfer Portal Cornerback

Originally posted on USC Trojans on SI
By Kendell Hollowell | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 10:58 AM ET

LOS ANGELES - USC Trojans sophomore cornerback Chasen Johnson has been held out of practice for the second consecutive week. While the Trojans do not officially release specific injuries, Johnson has been wearing a sleeve on his knee as he walks onto Howard Jones Field for practice.

USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn provided an update on the Trojans transfer defensive back when he spoke with the media on Wednesday.

"He was out there for a couple of weeks. He's been banged up," Lynn said. "We'll get him on the field sometime new week but not having him out there has hurt. But again, it's lot of other guys to get extra reps but when we get him healthy, we need to get him caught up to speed."

Johnson transferred from UCF during the spring window, where he rejoined cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed, who served in same role with the Golden Knights last season during Johnson's true freshman season. The sophomore cornerback was brought in to compete for a starting position, but because he has missed a large portion of fall camp, it has opened the door for some other guys.

The Trojans have a good mix of veterans at the position that have a ton of football under their belts and a talented group of young players. Redshirt seniors DeCarlos Nicholson and DJ Harvey are expected to be the team's starting cornerbacks in week 1 and right behind them is redshirt freshmen Marcelles Williams and Bray lon Conley.

"The competition is great between all of us," Conley said. "We all know that we're competing and working together also for a bigger goal."

As Lynn mentioned, they will need to get Johnson up to speed when he does return to the field because he has only been on campus for a few months and spent just about a week getting acclimated to the scheme in live practice reps.

Johnson is someone the Trojans coaching staff has high hopes for, otherwise they wouldn't have pursued him twice in the portal. The Florida native originally committed to USC in the winter portal and then flipped to SMU just a couple of days later but ultimately deciding to return to UCF.

He went through spring practice with the Golden Knights, before re-entering the portal in May. Reed made a quick phone call and was able to bring Johnson back out to Los Angeles. The two have a strong bond on and off the field.

"He's a dog. I was able to coach him," Reed said during the team's media days last month. "I know his story. I know we'll get him going. I know buttons to push. He shows up every day and we worked for it. He was a what, two-star recruit that hit the portal and had everybody in the country. That don't just happen, right? Development, believing in him and him believing in me."

This article first appeared on USC Trojans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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